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Amazon Flags Possible Abuse In Chicago 'Schedule A' Suits

By Ivan Moreno

Amazon is moving to pause court-ordered fund transfers in more than a dozen trademark cases brought against large numbers of online sellers in Chicago federal court, saying that while it's not a party to the litigation, it's investigating whether some of the lawsuits were used to obtain money the retailer previously froze for reasons unrelated to the disputes.

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Paraquat Judge Demands To Meet 700 Opt-Out Plaintiffs

By Cara Salvatore

The Illinois federal judge overseeing mass litigation claiming the herbicide paraquat causes Parkinson's disease ordered a plaintiffs' lawyer Wednesday to reveal who is funding his cases and to start attending fortnightly conferences so she can speak to each of his 700 clients who have opted out of a global settlement.

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Grok's Facial Analysis, Editing Abilities Draw BIPA Fight

By Lauraann Wood

Elon Musk's Grok artificial intelligence technology contains image-understanding capabilities that involve scanning the facial geometry in uploaded photos in violation of Illinois users' biometric privacy rights, a federal lawsuit alleges.

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Kroger's 'Zero Sugar' Syrup Draws Allulose Labeling Suit

By Celeste Bott

Kroger was hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court Wednesday alleging its maple syrup's "Zero Sugar" label misleads shoppers because it contains allulose, joining a growing number of suits following a Seventh Circuit ruling that the sweetener qualifies as sugar under federal labeling rules.

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Brief

Fed. Circ. Upholds Patent Denial In SAWS-Bias Challenge

By Celeste Bott

The Federal Circuit on Wednesday swiftly upheld the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision to deny an inventor's internal combustion engine patent application after he argued his constitutional rights were violated when his case was sent to the USPTO's controversial, now-discontinued Sensitive Application Warning System, or SAWS, program.

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Live Nation Says FTC Twists BOTS Act To Target Ticketmaster

By Bonnie Eslinger

Live Nation and Ticketmaster fought back against the Federal Trade Commission's case accusing the companies of ignoring ticket scalpers and failing to disclose significant Ticketmaster fees upfront, telling a California federal judge the agency is targeting the companies "for not perfectly blocking all ticket purchase abuse on Ticketmaster's platform."

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AGs Say Character.AI Chats Must Be Protected In Ch. 11 Sale

By Rick Archer

A group of state attorneys general told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday that protection of minors and privacy concerns need to be addressed before the company behind artificial intelligence entertainment platform Character.AI is allowed to sell its data in its Chapter 11 case.

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Insurer Can't Dodge Igloo Cooler Injury Suit Coverage Row

By Danielle Ferguson

Several class actions alleging consumers were injured by defective handles on Igloo roller coolers triggered an insurer's duty to defend the company, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday, denying most of the insurer's bid to toss the breach of contract claims against it.

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State Farm Says Insureds' $7M Fee Bid Ignores Case Losses

By Ben Adlin

State Farm urged a Seattle federal judge to slash policyholders' bid for attorney fees in two class actions in which the insurer was found liable for shortchanging customers on payouts for totaled vehicles, contending the plaintiffs' nearly $7 million in requested fees should be pared down to $1.9 million.

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What Lawyers Should Know Before Accepting Crypto Payment

As clients increasingly request to pay legal fees, retainers and escrow funds using cryptocurrency, lawyers should consider how only a handful of state bar authorities have addressed the issue with varying ethics opinions, as well as the related questions that no authority has yet answered, says attorney Felix Shipkevich.

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How To Use AI In Employment Contract Drafting

Before using artificial intelligence to draft employment contracts, law firms and employers must assess practical ethical guardrails, appropriate use cases, core risk areas and validation workflows, says Samuel Mitchell at Smith Gambrell.

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Watchdog Wants Probe Of Trump Press Secretary's Atty Claim

By Jack Karp

A nonprofit government watchdog on Wednesday asked the State Bar of California to investigate whether the new White House press secretary has claimed to be an attorney without being licensed to practice law.

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Ex-BigLaw Atty Wants Firm Docs For Insider Trading Defense

By Carolyn Muyskens

A former BigLaw associate accused of insider trading is seeking records from ex-employers Sidley Austin LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Goodwin Procter LLP to help fight charges that he tipped others about nonpublic deals the firms were working on.

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Quinn Emanuel Seeks Arbitration Of $1.7M Fee Dispute

By Caroline Simson

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is urging a California federal court to order an entrepreneur to arbitrate malpractice claims stemming from the firm's representation of her in a sexual harassment claim against a technology investor as it seeks to collect more than $1.7 million in unpaid fees.

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Baker Botts Atty Seeks $3.4M In Fees After Defamation Suit

By Madison Arnold

A Baker Botts LLP patent attorney has moved for almost $3.4 million in attorney fees and expenses in a defamation suit an inventor brought against her that was dismissed.

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Fox Rothschild Beats Daycare's Malicious Prosecution Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state court dismissed an adult daycare company's suit against Fox Rothschild LLP and one of its attorneys related to their prosecution of a fraudulent loan lawsuit that led to a $65,000 sanction against the firm, according to a court order.

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DLA Piper Accused Of Malpractice In Investor's Soccer Deals

By Bonnie Eslinger

American businessman John Textor has filed a legal malpractice suit in Florida against DLA Piper over the firm's representation in connection with an investment vehicle he created to acquire soccer clubs in the United Kingdom and other countries, claiming his damages could exceed hundreds of millions of dollars.

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